The Hogwarts Kitchens
The trio went up to the Owlery later in the evening to find Goliath for Arthur to send Sirius a letter, telling him that he had managed to get past his dragon without any injury.
David handled Goliath, who hooted at his owner excitedly while Athena seemed a bit offended.
"I'm sorry, girl. But Sirius said I had to use other owls to avoid getting attention." Arthur explained to her, stroking her head and back. She had every right to be mad at him, but she understood and went to sleep.
David was able to attach the letter to Goliath's leg and let him off.
"I'm now very curious what the other tasks will be like in comparison. What could be on par with facing dragons?" David questioned as they left the Owlery.
"I don't know, but regardless, Arthur has a really good chance of winning the Tournament." Chrys replied with a shrug.
"Anyway, let's hurry to the common room for Arthur's party, Jack and Kevin will have nicked some food from the kitchens."
Sure enough, upon entering the Gryffindor common room, it exploded with cheers and yells, this time, Arthur felt it was earned.
There were mountains of cakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and Butterbeer on pretty much every surface. Lee Jordan set off some Dr Filibuster's Fabulous No Heat, Wet Start Fireworks, making the air thick with stars and sparks. Dean Thomas, who was good at drawing, had put up a set of new banners, a lot of which depicted Arthur zooming around the Horntail's head on his Firebolt, others showing him in his Animagus form and the rest showing Cedric's head on fire.
Arthur helped himself to some food and Butterbeer, desperately hungry after what he had to face earlier and he sat there in content with David, Chrys and Mike.
And he didn't have to face the second task for three months, which he just basked in, knowing he had a break.
"Blimey, this is heavy." Lee Jordan said as he picked up the golden egg, which Arthur had left on a table, weighing it in his hands, "Open it, Arthur, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"
"But he's supposed to work the clue out on his own." Chrys said.
"The same could be said about the dragons." Arthur muttered so only David, Chrys and Mike could hear and she grinned slightly.
"Yeah, go on, Arthur, open it!" Several other people echoed.
Lee passed the egg to Arthur, who examined the egg for a few seconds, seeing a pattern of buildings on it and the cap on top had three points that seemed like they kept the egg closed until they moved to three indentations in their shape.
He twisted the cap and three sections of the golden shell opened up to reveal a glass egg that seemed to have glowing bubbles inside.
But the very moment the egg opened up, it made the most horrible noise of loud and screeching wailing, which filled the whole common room. The nearest thing to it that Arthur could think of was that ghost orchestra at Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party, who played the musical saw.
"SHUT THAT BLOODY THING UP!" Jack bellowed as his hands covered his ears.
"What was that?" Seamus asked, staring at the egg as Arthur slammed it shut. "Sounded like a banshee… maybe you've got to get past one of those next, Arthur?"
"It was someone being tortured!" Neville said, having gone very white, spilling sausage rolls over the floor. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Neville!" Kevin snapped at him. "It's illegal, remember? They'd never use that on the champions. It sounded more like something screaming in the purest form of agony."
"Do you want a jam tart, Chrys?" Jack then asked.
Chrys looked at the plate with suspicion, especially with Jack's grin on his face.
"It's fine. Nothing's done to them, it's really the custard creams you have to watch -"
Neville, who bit a custard cream, choked and spat it out.
"It's just a little joke." Jack chuckled.
"Did you get these tarts from the kitchens?" Chrys asked curiously.
"Yep." Jack grinned.
"How do you get in there?" She then asked.
"There's a concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Tickle the pear, which will make it giggle and the painting opens up to reveal the door." Jack instructed.
Neville then suddenly turned into a large canary.
"Sorry, Neville!" Jack shouted over the loud laughter. "It actually was the custard creams we hexed!"
Within a minute, Neville had moulted and as his feathers fell off, he reappeared looking completely normal and joined in the laughter.
"Canary Creams!" Jack then shouted to the crowd. "Me and Kevin invented them, seven Sickles each, bargain!"
It was nearly one in the morning when Arthur finally went to bed in the dormitory with David, Mike, Neville, Seamus and Dean.
Before he pulled the curtains of his four poster bed shut, he placed his model of the Hungarian Horntail on the table next to the bed, where it yawned and curled up, closing its eyes.
Arthur really did find it to be cute.
At the start of December, wind and sleet covered Hogwarts.
Despite being draughty throughout the castle, as it always does in winter, Arthur was glad of its fires and thick walls whenever he passed the Durmstrang ship on the lake, which was pitching in the high winds, the black sails billowing against the dark skies.
He also thought of the Beauxbatons students, who had to reside in that caravan, thinking that it was most likely chilly as well.
Arthur noticed that Hagrid was keeping Maxime's Abraxans well provided with single malt whiskey. Yet the fumes that wafted from the the trough in the corner of their paddock made the whole Care of Magical Creatures class light headed, which proved to be unhelpful, considering they still had to tend to the Skrewts.
"I'm not sure whether they hibernate or not." Hagrid informed the shivering class in the windy pumpkin patch next lesson. "Though we'd jus' try an' see if they fancied a kip…. We'll jus' settle 'em down in these boxes…."
There were now only ten Skrewts left as their desire to kill each other hadn't been exercised out of them. Each of them were now approaching six feet in length. Their thick grey armour, powerful scuttling legs, fire blasting ends, stings and suckers all combined, resulting in the Skrewts being the most repulsive things Arthur had seen to date.
The whole class looked dispiritedly at the large boxes Hagrid brought out, all lined up with pillows and fluffy blankets.
"We'll jus' lead 'em in here…" He said. "...an' put the lids on, and we'll see what happens."
But it seemed that the Skrewts did not hibernate and didn't like being forced into pillow lined boxes and being nailed in.
Hagrid soon yelled "Don' panic, now, don' panic!" as the Skrewts ended up rampaging around the pumpkin patch, strewn with the smouldering wreckage of the boxes.
Most of the class, with the Slytherin trio of Draco, Crabbe and Goyle in front, had fled into Hagrid's cabin through the back door and barricaded themselves in. Meanwhile, the trio were among those, that included Mike, that remained outside trying to help Hagrid. Together, they had managed to restrain and tie up nine of the Skrewts, though this was at the cost of numerous burns and cuts. And there was only one Skrewt left to handle.
"Don' frighten him, now!" Hagrid shouted as Arthur, David and Mike shot jets of fiery sparks from their wands at the Skrewt, which had advanced menacingly on them, its sting arched, quivering over its back. "Jus' try an' slip the rope round his sting, so he won' hurt any o' the others!"
"How can we do that if it tries to hurt us!" David retorted as he, Arthur and Mike were backed into the wall of Hagrid's cabin, still holding off the Skrewt with their sparks.
"Well, well, well, this does look like fun."
Skeeter had just appeared, leaning on Hagrid's garden fence and looking in at the mayhem. She wore a thich magenta cloak with a furry purple collar and had her crocodile skin handbag over her arm.
Hagrid launched himself forward on top of the Skrewt that cornered the three boys, flattening it; a blast of fire shot out of its end, withering the nearby pumpkin plants.
"Who're you?" Hagrid asked her, as he slipped rope around the Skrewt's sting, tightening it.
"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter." Skeeter replied, beaming at him, showing off her three golden teeth that glinted in the daylight.
"Thought Dumbledore said you weren' allowed inside the school any more?" Hagrid said, frowning as he got off the slightly squashed Skrewt and tugged it over to its fellows.
"Yeah, you're no longer welcome, so get out!" Arthur added, yet she didn't seem to hear them.
"What are these fascinating creatures called?" She asked, beaming.
"Blast Ended Skrewts." Hagrid grunted.
"Really?" She said… seemingly with interest. "I've never heard of them before… where do they come from?"
Arthur noticed a dull red flush rising out of Hagrid's black beard, making his heart sink. Where did Hagrid get these things from?
Chrys was thinking the same thing as she said "They're definitely interesting, aren't they, Arthur?"
"Ah, you're here, Arthur!" Skeeter said as she looked around. "So you like Care of Magical Creatures, do you? One of your favourite lessons?"
"I'm not answering any of your questions, especially since you're not allowed to be here, now GO AWAY!" Arthur replied.
"Okay…. Been teaching long?" She moved on back to Hagrid.
Arthur watched as her eyes travelled over Dean (who had a nasty cut across one of his cheeks), Lavender (whos robes got badly singed), Seamus (who had several burnt fingers), Mike (who had a hole on the sleeve from a burn) and then to the cabin windows, where the rest of the class stood, their noses pressed against the glass, waiting to see if the coast was clear.
"This is on'y me second year." Hagrid replied to her question.
"Lovely… I don't suppose you'd like to give an interview, would you? Share some of your experience of magical creatures? The Prophet does a zoological column every Wednesday, as I'm sure you know. We could feature these - er - Bang Ended Scoots."
"Blast Ended Skrewts." Hagrid said eagerly. "Er - yeah, why not."
Arthur's heart sank even more as Skeeter will just write an article making Hagrid look bad, or to just get some information on himself. Of course, he couldn't communicate his worries to Hagrid without Skeeter seeing and so he just watched as they arranged to meet in the Three Broomsticks for a long interview later in the week. Then the bell rang up at the castle, meaning that the lesson was now over.
"Well, goodbye, Arthur!" Skeeter called merrily to him as he set off with David and Chrys as fast as he could. "Until Friday night, then, Hagrid!"
"That bloody hag will twist everything he says." Arthur said to the pair.
"Let's just hope he didn't import the Skrewts illegally or anything." Chrys said with concern, though they looked at each other, knowing that Hagrid would do exactly that.
"But Dumbledore's never sacked Hagrid, even when he's been in trouble."" David said. "The worst that could happen is that Hagrid has to get rid of the Skrewts, though it would really be the best."
Arthur and Chrys chuckled, feeling a bit cheerful as they went to have lunch.
Arthur somehow enjoyed double Divination that afternoon. They still did star charts and predictions as Trelawney started getting irritated when he, David and Mike sniggered through her explanations of the various ways that Pluto could disrupt everyday life.
"I would think…" She said in a mystical whisper that showed off her annoyance. "...that some of us -" She stared very meaningfully at Arthur. " - might be a little less frivolous had they seen what I have seen, during my crystal gazing last night. As I sat here, absorbed in my needlework, the urge to consult the orb overpowered me. I arose, I settled myself before it and I gazed into its crystalline depths… and what do you think I saw gazing back at me?"
"An over the top phoney who just can't stand being proven wrong time and time again?" David retorted.
"Death, my dears."
Both Parvati and Lavender put their hands over their mouths, looking horrified.
"Yes…" Trelawney said, nodding impressively. "...it comes, ever closer, it circles overhead like a vulture, ever lower… ever lower over the castle…." She stared pointedly at Arthur, stared back at her in boredom.
"You've predicted my death too many times to count, and yet I'm still breathing." He told her.
Eventually, the lesson ended and they regained fresh air of the staircase beneath Trelawney's room.
"I'm just glad we didn't get homework." David said as he and Arthur went for dinner.
They were surprised to see Chrys wasn't at dinner, and she wasn't even in the library when they went to look for her. They only saw Krum there, with six or seven girls lurking in the next row of books by the Bulgarian champion.
"Where could she have gone to?" David asked as they went back to Gryffindor Tower.
"Kitchens, perhaps… she was curious to go down there. Balderdash."
However, when the Fat Lady barely began swinging forwards, Chrys actually shot out from the portrait hole.
"Arthur!" She panted when she skidded to a halt beside him. "You need to come, you're not gonna believe this. Come on!"
She seized his arm and led him away from the Fat Lady.
"What is it?" He asked.
"It's better to just show you, come on!"
Arthur looked at David, who was just as confused as he was.
"Oh, don't mind me!" The Fat Lady called out irritably after them. "Don't apologise for bothering me! I'll just hang here, wide open and you get back, shall I?"
"SORRY!" David called back.
They went down six floors and went down the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall.
Chrys then led the two boys to the left of the staircase and hurried towards the door that Cedric had gone the night his and Arthur's names were shot out of the Goblet of Fire.
Arthur had never been through here as he and David were led down a flight of stone steps and instead of being in some gloomy underground passage like the one that led to Snape's dungeon, they were in a broad stone corridor that was brightly lit with torches, decorated with cheerful paintings that were mainly of food.
"We're actually going into the kitchens, aren't we?" Arthur asked as they ended up in front of a large painting of a gigantic silver fruit bowl.
"We are, you're not gonna believe who I found." Chrys replied excitedly.
She then stretched out her index finger and tickled the large green pear, which started squirming and chuckling before it turned into a large green door handle. Chrys then seized it and pulled the door open, pushing Arthur hard on his back, forcing him inside.
He was able to see that he was in an enormous, high ceilinged room, as large as the Great Hall directly above it, with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans that heaped around the stone walls and a great brick fireplace at the other end.
Then something small hurtled towards him from the middle of the room and squealed "Arthur Pendergast, sir! Arthur Pendergast!"
The next second, all the wind was knocked out of Arthur when the squealing elf hit him hard in he midriff, hugging tightly. Arthur's eyes widened in recognition as he realised who it was.
"Dobby!" He grinned, so happy to see him again, even hugging him back.
"It is Dobby, sir, it is!" The voice around his navel said. "Dobby has been hoping and hoping to see Arthur Pendergast, sir, and Arthur Pendergast has come to see him, sir!"
Dobby then let go and stepped back a few paces, beaming up at Arthur, his large, green tennis ball shaped eyes brimming with tears of happiness.
He looked exactly as Arthur remembered him last with the pencil shaped nose, the bat-like ears, the long fingers and feet.
The only difference was his clothes, which were very different.
When Dobby worked for the Malfoy family, he always wore the same filthy old pillowcase. He now wore an interesting assortment of garments. He now wore a tea cosy for a hat, which he had pinned with a number of bright badges, a tie patterned with horseshoes over a bare chest, a pair of what had to be children's football shorts and mismatched socks. One was the one he had used to trick Lucius into giving Dobby, setting Dobby free. And the other was covered in pink and orange stripes.
"What the heck are you doing here?" Arthur asked in amazement.
"Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir!" Dobby squealed excitedly. "Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby and Winky jobs, sir!"
"Wait! Winky's here, too?" Arthur questioned.
"Yes, sir, yes!" Dobby said, seizing Arthur's hand and pulling him into the kitchen between the four long wooden tables that stood, each being directly beneath the four house tables in the Great Hall. Currently, they were clear of food as dinner was already over, but if he was here an hour ago, Arthur would've seen these tables laden with dishes that would've been sent through the ceiling and onto their counterparts above.
There were at least a hundred little house elves that stood around the kitchen, beaming, bowing and curtseying as Dobby led Arthur past them all. They all wore the same uniform, which was a tea towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest, and tied like a toga, like Winky's.
Dobby then stopped in front of the brick fireplace and pointed.
"Winky, sir!" He said.
She sat on a stool by the fire. Unlike Dobby, she didn't forage for clothes. She now wore a neat little skirt and blouse with a matching blue hat, which had holes for her large ears.
Unlike Dobby's collection of garments being so clean and well cared for that they seemed brand new, Winky didn't seem to care for her clothes as there were soup stains all down her blouse and a burn in her skirt.
"Winky?" Arthur said, getting her attention.
Her lip quivered before she burst into tears, spilling out from her great brown eyes, splashing down her front, very much like at the Quidditch World Cup.
"Poor thing." Chrys said as she and David had followed Arthur and Dobby to the end of the kitchen. "Winky, it's alright…."
This only made the female house elf cry harder than ever. Meanwhile, Dobby beamed up at Arthur.
"Would Arthur Pendergast like a cup of tea?" He squeaked loudly to be heard over Winky's sobs.
"I'd prefer hot chocolate." He replied and instantly, six of the house elves trotted up behind him, bearing a large silver tray laden with cups for Arthur, David and Chrys with a bowl of marshmallows and biscuits.
"Nice." David said, very much impressed as he and Arthur took their cups and put some marshmallows in them. The elves all looked delighted as they bowed very low and retreated.
"How long have you been working here?" Arthur asked Dobby before taking a sip of the perfect hot chocolate with the added flavour of melted marshmallows.
"Only a week, Arthur Pendergast, sir!" Dobb said happily. "Dobby came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir. You see, sir, it is very difficult for a house elf who has just been dismissed to get a new position, sir, very difficult indeed -"
This made Winky howl even harder, her nose dribbling down her front, though she made no effort to stem the flow.
"Dobby has travelled the country for two whole years, sir, trying to find work!" Dobby squeaked. "But Dobby hasn't found work, sir, because Dobby wants paying now!"
All the house elves in the kitchen that listened with interest, all looked away at those words, like he said something rude or embarrassing.
"Well, good for you, Dobby!" Chrys said.
"Thank you, miss!" Dobby said, grinning toothily at her. "But most wizards doesn't want a house elf who wants paying, miss. 'That's not the point of a house elf' they says, and they slammed the door in Dobby's face! Dobby likes work, but he wants to wear clothes and he wants to be paid, Arthur Pendergast… Dobby likes being free!"
All the Hogwarts house elves now edged away from him, as though he was contagious. Then there's Winky, who remind where she was, though with a definite increase in volume with her crying.
"And then, Arthur Pendergast, Dobby goes to visit Winky, and finds out Winky has been freed, too, sir!" Dobby then said delightedly.
At this, Winky had flung herself off the stool and lay, face down, on the flagged stone floor, beating her tiny fists upon it, now screaming in misery. Chrys dropped down to her knees beside her, trying her best to comfort her, though nothing she said or did made a difference.
Dobby still continued on with his story, now shouting shrilly over Winky's screeches. "And then Dobby had the idea, Arthur Pendergast, sir! 'Why doesn't Dobby and Winky find work together?' Dobby says. 'Where is there enough work for two house elves?' says Winky. And Dobby thinks, and it comes to him, sir! Hogwarts! So Dobby and Winky came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir, and Professor Dumbledore took us on!"
He beamed very brightly with happy tears welling in his eyes once more.
"And Professor Dumbledore says he will pay Dobby, sir, if Dobby wants paying! And so Dobby is a free elf, sir, and Dobby gets a Galleon a week and one day off a month!"
"That's it?" Chrys asked, wondering why he'd accept that little, over Winky's continued screaming and fist beating.
"Professor Dumbledore offered Dobby ten Galleons a week and weekends off…" Dobby said, shivering as though the idea of too much leisure and riches was scary. "...but Dobby beat him down, miss… Dobby likes freedom, miss, but he isn't wanting too much, miss, he likes work better."
"And you, Winky?" Chrys asked, which caused a still crying Winky to look up at her with her massive brown eyes, absolutely furious.
"Winky is a disgraced elf, but Winky is not yet getting paid!" She squeaked. "Winky is not sunk so low as that! Winky is properly ashamed of being freed!"
"Crouch is the one to be ashamed!" Chrys replied. You didn't even do anything wrong, he treated you horribly -"
Those words made Winky clap her hands over the holes in her hat, fluttering her ears so that she couldn't hear anything as she screeched "You is insulting my master, miss! You is not insulting Mr Crouch! Mr Crouch is a good wizard, miss! Mr Crouch is right to sack bad Winky!"
"Winky is having trouble adjusting, Arthur Pendergast." Dobby squeaked confidentially. "Winky forest she is not bound to Mr Crouch any more; she is allowed to speak her mind now, but she won't do it."
"Do house elves not speak their minds about their masters?" Arthur asked for clarification.
"Oh, no, sir, no." Dobby said, now looking serious. "'Tis part of the house elf's enslavement, sir. We keep their secrets and our silence, sir, we upholds the family's honour, and we never speaks ill of them - though Professor Dumbledore told Dobby he does not insist upon this, Professor Dumbledore said we is free to - to -"
Dobby now looked nervous, beckoning Arthur closer, making him bend forwards.
"He said we is free to call him a - a barmy old codger if we likes, sir!" He whispered in Arthur's ear before giving a frightened giggle.
"But Dobby is not wanting to, Arthur Pendergast." he then said, talking normally and shaking his head so much his ears flapped. "Dobby likes Professor Dumbledore very much, sir, and is proud to keep his secrets for him."
"But are you able to say anything about the Malfoys, since you're free from serving them?" Arthur raised a curiously raised eyebrow.
"Dobby - Dobby could." He said doubtfully. He then squared his small shoulders. Dobby could tell Arthur Pendergast that his old masters were - were - bad dark wizards!"
Dobby stood there for a moment, quivering and horror struck by his own daring before rushing to the nearest table and banged his head on it, very hard as he squealed "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
Arthur seized him by the back of his tie and pulled him away from the table.
"You alright?" Arthur asked with concern.
"Thank you, Arthur Pendergast, thank you." Dobby replied breathlessly, rubbing his head.
"Yeah, you definitely need some practice." Arthur noted.
"Practise!" Winky squealed furiously. "You is not to be ashamed of yourself, Dobby, talking that way about your masters!"
"They isn't my masters any more Winky!" Dobby replied defiantly. "Dobby doesn't care what they think any more!"
"Oh, you is a bad elf, Dobby!" Winky moaned, tears leaking down her face again. "My poor Mr Crouch, what is he doing without Winky? He is needing me, he is needing my help! I is looking after the Crouches all my life, and my mother is doing it before me, and my grandmother is doing it before her… oh, what is they saying if they knew Winky was freed? Oh, the shame, the shame!" She buried her face in her skirt again and bawled.
"Winky, he's actually been doing fine without you, that says a lot." Chrys explained. "We've seen him -"
"You is seeing my master?" Winky said breathlessly, raising her tear stained face from her skirt, goggling at Chrys. "You is seeing him here at Hogwarts?"
"Yeah, he and Bagman are judges for the Triwizard Tournament."
"Mr Bagman comes, too?" Winky squeaked, and much to the trio's surprise, she looked angry again. "Mr Bagman is a bad wizard! A very bad wizard! My master isn't liking him, oh no, not at all!"
"How the heck is Bagman bad?" Arthur questioned in shock. How could Bagman of all people be described as such, considering how others felt about him.
"My master is telling Winky some things! But Winky is not saying… Winky - Winky keeps her master's secrets…."
She then dissolved into tears yet again and she sobbed into her skirt "Poor master, poor master, no Winky to help him no more!"
The trio couldn't get another sensible word out of her, so they just left her crying as they finished their hot chocolate, while Dobby chatted about his life as a free elf, as well as his plans for his wages.
"Dobby is going to buy a jumper next, Arthur Pendergast!" He said happily, pointing at his bare chest.
"You know what, I could send my owl to my aunt to knit you a sweater. She always sends me one every Christmas since coming to Hogwarts." Arthur suggested, leaving Dobby delighted.
As the three prepared to leave, a lot of the surrounding elves pressed in upon them, offering snacks to take back upstairs. They all accepted as they had some sausage rolls and doughnuts.
"Thanks a lot!" Arthur said to the elves, who all clustered around the door to say goodnight. "See you later, Dobby!"
"Arthur Pendergast… can Dobby come and see you sometimes, sir?" Dobby asked tentatively.
"Sure." Arthur replied, making Dobby beam.
"I'm actually surprised by how easy it was to get food from the kitchens." David said as they left they left the kitchens behind them. "Those elves couldn't wait to give it away."
"The way Winky talked about Crouch, she seemed to have loved him." Chrys said.
"And how she referred to Bagman as a bad wizard, clearly from Crouch saying so." Arthur pointed out.
"Well, that's the thing about house elves." David said. "Excluding Dobby, they tend to share the opinions of their masters. So whatever past Crouch had with Bagman, it must be so bad for Crouch that he'd freely speak about him in a negative way."
"I'm now curious about what it could be." Arthur muttered before he took a bit out of a sausage roll that melted in his mouth.
It seemed that the mystery surrounding Winky and Crouch just got more interesting.
Honestly, when I first read the books, I was so delighted when Dobby first showed up here. He's easily one of my favourite characters in the series.
